Operation Domino brings dealers crashing down

Last night, officers hailed it a massive success, with nine big time drug dealers sentenced to a total of almost 40 years

Legal barriers halted reporting of the operation until ringleader James Carlin was found guilty yesterday.

Carlin, 24, was involved in the supply of cocaine over the period of the operation, which stretched from October 2007 to December 2008.

Undercover officers infiltrated Carlin's inner circle, and gathered evidence related to him and others who were involved in dealing large quantities of cocaine in Edinburgh.

MORE ON OPERATION DOMINO

• Nine others get 38 years

• Carlin shot while awaiting trial

The officers - named in court as "Kev" and "Tommy" - pretended to be Geordie criminals now living in Edinburgh. They befriended gang members based at Jock's Lodge pub just east of the city centre by offering to sell them "stolen" goods, such as TVs, computer consoles and stab-proof vests.

They also wined and dined the high-living criminals taking them to executive boxes at Hibs games. They then arranged to buy drugs from the gang, catching them in the act.

It is understood that sophisticated bugging devices were also used to listen in on the gang, several planted in supposedly stolen upmarket widescreen televisions sold to the gang by the undercover officers.

In total, drugs with a value of around 140,000 were recovered during the operation, and a further 61,000 worth of drugs were recovered during subsequent searches. In addition, goods and cash to the value of 15,810 were also recovered, bringing the combined total of recoveries to 216,810.

Kev, whose real identity will never be revealed, was a key witness against Carlin in the trial.

Detective Superintendent David Bullen, who led the operation, said: "This was a sophisticated operation to bring down a group of serious and organised criminals who were responsible for distributing large quantities of drugs, predominantly cocaine, throughout Edinburgh.

"Using innovative tactics, officers infiltrated Carlin's inner circle and accumulated a vast array of evidence related to his criminal activity, as well as others within his group."

"The results of our investigation speak for themselves, and we welcome today's guilty verdict, which is testament to the joint working between Lothian and Borders Police and the Crown Office and Procurator-Fiscal Service to bring this case to a successful conclusion.

"Members of the public should be reassured that Lothian and Borders Police will continue to use all the resources at its disposal to bring down the serious organised criminal networks whose activities bring misery to local communities, and seize their ill-gotten gains.

"Of course, we continue to rely on the public to provide us with information on those involved in criminal activity, and at this time I would like to appeal to anyone who has information that can assist us in identifying these criminals and organised crime groups to contact police.

"Rest assured that any information received will be acted upon, and treated in the strictest confidence."